Who We Are
How We Got Here
Since 2010, our team has been developing the core technology underpinning Cypris' structural color technology and combines decades of experience and core expertise in synthetic polymer chemistry, catalysis, and materials science. In 2019 Dr. Raymond Weitekamp, Dr. Ryan Pearson, Dr. Matthew Ryan, Nobel Laureate Prof. Robert Grubbs and Prof. Garret Miyake co-founded Cypris Materials Inc. to commercialize structural color coatings.
The Cypris Materials Team
Ryan Pearson
Co-Founder & CEO
Through leveraging his background in polymer chemistry, Ryan has led the team in the development and market applications of Cypris’ structural color coatings spanning commodity and high-performance markets. Pearson’s entrepreneurial drive is rooted in his commitment to green chemistry and desire to translate fundamental research into commercial technologies. In 2018, he presented a TEDx talk on Cypris’ paintable reflective coatings and was recognized on the Forbes' 30 under 30 list in 2020. Ryan is also a past fellow in the Activate Cyclotron Road program. Before co-founding Cypris, Ryan conducted research at the interface of organic synthesis, catalysis, and polymer chemistry while pursuing his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry from Colorado State University.
Matthew Ryan
Co-Founder & CTO
Matthew leads the technical development and productization of Cypris’ structural color platform. His broad expertise spanning materials science, synthetic polymer chemistry, and catalysis has enabled Cypris’ rapid ideation-to-product cycle. Over the last five years he has driven innovation around the synthesis, formulation, and deposition of Cypris’ materials. Matthew was a 2019 Activate Fellow, awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 in 2020, and has been recently recognized by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers as one of the Rising Stars in Industry. Matthew holds a PhD in Chemistry from Colorado State University, and a B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Luke Whitson
Senior Materials Engineer
Luke holds a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Utah and brings experience in organic materials. Prior to joining Cypris Materials, Luke worked as a material engineer for Northrop Grumman and SRI International where he focused on the development of aerospace and optical coatings. Since joining in 2020, Luke has led the formulation and application efforts including design of experiments-based analysis, application methods, quality control, and market-specific productization.
Charitha Kaki
Materials Engineer Intern
Charitha is a second-year student at UC Berkeley currently pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Materials Science and Technology. She has fostered her interest in materials chemistry and green production through her work with Biofuels Technology Club to adapt a process to convert waste cooking oil to biodiesel. As an intern at Cypris Materials, she works on formulation strategies to improve and tune the color and coating properties to customer specification.
Gisella Esparza
Polymer Engineer Intern
Gisella is a fourth-year student at UC Berkeley currently pursuing a degree in Materials Science & Engineering. As an intern at Cypris Materials, she works on formulation strategies to improve and tune the color and coating properties to customer specification.
Raymond Weitekamp
Co-Founder
Dr. Weitekamp is an experienced entrepreneur, founding polySpectra and co-founding Cypris Materials. He received his PhD in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 2015, where he developed new materials chemistry and simulated the reflective properties of photonic crystals. He brings his knowledge of photonic crystals, deep tech network, and long-term vision in translating academic discoveries into commercial products to the team. Raymond curates PhDtoCEO.com, a website dedicated to helping scientists’ transition into entrepreneurship as well as Invent.FM, a podcast with the dream of creating a global community of inventors worldwide. He was recognized on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2017.
Robert Grubbs
Co-Founder
Dr. Grubbs is the 2005 Nobel Laureate in chemistry for his development of the olefin metathesis reaction in organic synthesis, which has been used for a myriad of applications including precision polymer synthesis via ring opening metathesis polymerization. In 2009, his research group discovered the first rapidly self-assembling brush block copolymer based photonic crystals which provided the foundation to Cypris’ technology. Amongst other commercialization efforts, his scientific contributions led to the founding of Materia, Inc. which initially commercialized the Ruthenium based “Grubbs” catalyst used to produce Cypris’ materials.
Garret Miyake
Co-Founder
Dr. Miyake earned his PhD in polymer chemistry from Colorado State University under Eugene Chen, and performed his post-doctoral studies at California Institute of Technology under Robert Grubbs. During his post-doc he developed the core science enabling Cypris’s technology. He started his independent career as an assistant professor in 2014. In 2015, he served as the lead PI on the ARPA-E grant “Paintable Heat-Reflective Coatings for Low-Cost Energy Efficient Windows” which laid the basis to Cypris’ technology. Garret also serves as the Co-Founder and CTO of New Iridium, a photo catalyst start-up that spun out from technology developed in his lab.
Lila Taylor
Advisor
Lila works closely with hundreds of early and mid-stage tech and biotech companies every year in her role as head of the Presenter Selection Committee for the Biotech Showcase, Digital Medicine & MedTech Showcase and Seed Showcase as well as being on the selection committee for Health Tech Capital and the due diligence team for the Portfolia Active Aging & Longevity Fund. As Chief Business Officer of Demy-Colton, Lila builds relationships with hard-tech companies, industry stakeholders, and venture capitalists to shape innovative events worldwide, and continues to seek out the most promising tech companies.
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